After so long I'll say I love you
by KnoxMichalis
Summary: Ib is sixteen, Garry is twenty-five. They haven't seen each other in seven years. Ib carries a burden of her horrible life. She has scars to prove it. The Gallery was one of the worst things that had happened to her, but she loved meeting Garry. She was also abused, and it slowly got worse as she got older. Can Garry heal the scars of her memories? Will they fall in love?
1. Chapter 1

Am I alright? No. Can you convince me that I'm alright? No. Do I want to be alright? ... That depends. I only need Garry to convince me of such a thing... I haven't seen Garry in seven years... I'll never see him again... Because I died before I met him. My rose wilted before he could see my alive in the Fabricated World... He found his way out of the gallery, because my spirit of the red rose guiding him to safety. Though he never saw me, I was his survival instinct. But... I was nine years old back then, I'm sixteen at the strike of twelve... Which should be~, now...

!

My eyes flashed open and I gasped, my body shot up at instinct. After many moments of shock, and several deep breaths, I sighed and slowly closed my eyes. I fell back on my red bed. I groaned and opened my eyes to stare at my pasty white ceiling. "It's... yes, another nightmare..." I whispered with tears streaming down the sides of my face, dripping into my ears. My eyes shifted to my alarm clock. The red numbers blared through the darkness of the room, reading nine thirty-six a.m.

I sighed, flinging my skinny legs off my bed and sitting up. I stared at the wall for a minute, still trying to recover from the shock of the rude awakening. I covered my mouth as I yawned and I stood up. I turned around to look at the girl in my six foot tall mirror. Do you know who I saw?

I saw me, in my tight red tank-top and crimson underwear. I walked around my bed to get to my closet. I pulled open the door and searched what I could see. I finally decided to wear my shaggy plain V-neck red dress that went just below my knees with straps that stretched from my neck to my shoulder. It was pretty easy to put on, and mother said that I could wear it on my sixteenth birthday, and that's today...

!

I trudged into the kitchen, only to find a note on the dinner table with a few cupcakes next to it and three roses. One red, then violet, and blue. I read the note first, I don't like to waste time on useless things like sugar and roses. Anyway, the note;

"My precious daughter, I'm sorry to not be there on your very special day, but we had to go to court to settle your father and I's divorce. The council would not allow any other day, and there sending him to jail for abuse. I'm so sorry honey. You will live with mommy in this same house we do now. Look at the bright side my red rose, we won't be beat anymore, and there will be no more stress involving him. And don't be nervous about going to the Art Gallery alone Ib. Love, your mom." I read aloud.

I stared at the note and re-read it a few times, and then shredded it before throwing it away. I took a plastic bag and carefully stacked then on top of one another, not caring about the frosting getting on the bottom.

I walked over by the door, grabbed my purse from the coat rack, along with my red hoodie to hide my shoulder. I looked down to see red heels that my mother had gotten me when I was fourteen. I could have spit on them if I were still nine years old, but I'm a young woman, not a child. So, I lazily slipped my feet into them. I rested my hand on my arm... where a scar remained from father's abuse...

Yes, it was very visible, but I was never insecure. The scar... ran all the way from the palm of my hand, all the way to my shoulder. This wasn't some sort of drunk abuse, the scar showed that it was purposeful.

"Yes. I remember the hell you dragged me to... Father."

!flashback!

"Mommy... mommy!" I screamed as my father cornered me in the basement, gripping the knife he had in his hand. No. I wasn't going to cry. Never do I cry. My knees were against my chest, my arms over my head. My tiny body was trebling and my crimson eyes were wide with terror burning in them. "GARRY!" I screamed. No. He wasn't coming. This wasn't the Fabricated World the two of us had been in. My mental red rose was being plucked as I was kicked in the shin. my sleeves were ripped, my red skirt had burn marks across the fabric from when father tried to burn me. "You sickening little thirteen year old!" he hissed grabbing my arm.

"Please stop daddy..." I choked. But, of course, he continued to torture me. He dug the knife into my hand, sliding it upward, being careful not to cut a vein and kill me. I released and ear-splitting scream, but held back the tears he was waiting to see flow like a river. He curved the knife and made a spiral shape going around and around my arm. He did this until it reached my shoulder. Blood. So much blood. This metallic smell in the air that was coming from the blood gushing out of my arm and dripping onto the cement ground of this dimly lit room. "Garry..."

!End!

"Mom wasn't home. I hadn't seen Garry in four years, but now it's been seven... Well shit... I miss him so much." I mumbled opening the door to the outside world. My eyes squinted as the sun tried to blind them. I looked down at my scar. I couldn't help but frown. I knew for damned fact that I'll never see Garry again. But if there was a chance, a slight chance we met again, what would her think? I'd never been to the Art Gallery since years and years ago, I just wanted to bring back memories, and to learn from them. Think things about those moments that I'd been through that I didn't think at the time. That sort of thing.

"Right then! Let's go." I said as I walked down the empty sidewalk.

!

I stepped in through the double doors that led to what I used to call hell. a tall man was standing behind the reception desk, before he could turn his attention to me, I made sure that the jacket covered my shoulder, as it did my arm. I casually walked over to him, my heels making a "clack" sound as my feet carried me forward. I stopped in front of his desk and the man hadn't noticed me until I did so. The man looked tired with dark circles under his eyes. He had told me what to pay, and me, always being prepared, grabbed the twenty dollar bill from my purse and politely handed it to him. In exchange, he gave me a pass that read "paid"

Funny, I didn't need one when I was younger. I guess security has tightened the last time I was here.

!

I stared at "The Hanged Man" painting that was hung perfectly on the wall. I didn't necessarily like it though. I looked behind me to see the same three headless statues that I'd seen before. Hah... they're not as scary as I remember. Then again, they were alive the last time I saw them. I walked down the hallway saw the couch I saw in in the evil gallery before things tried to break in to the room and kill me. I also passed "The Coughing Man" as I turned the corner.

I search the gallery to find the "Fabricated World" painting that I came here for. After I found it, I saw a tall man that was already there, admiring the painting. But... Wait... No way.

I ran over to the painting where the man was. There's no way I can mistake that purple hair and long coat... The man sensed a presence and looked over to me. But that man was...

"It's you..."


	2. Chapter 2

"It's you..."

Her eyes were as wide as they could go without popping out of her head. A look of shock like no other. Her lips perked into a small smile, that smile that I'd missed so much. I was loosing balance from the thousands of mixed feelings, the swirling thoughts in my head, the increasing beats of my heart. I felt salty tears well up in my eyes from all the joy I felt right now. I quickly blinked away my tears and covered my mouth from the screams prying to escape my throat. She was here, with a smile of remembrance and happiness. If I were able to function right, I would be squeezing her as hard as possible right now.

"Garry..." She breathed. She looked as anxious as I felt. I ran to her before she took a step and wrapped my arms around her. She was still short, but she'd grow some. Her arms slid a crossed my waist so that she could hug me back. I felt like such a girl right now, when the tears escaped my eyes and dripped onto her shoulder. Her tiny fists gripped onto my jacket. I heard her ragged breathing. "Ib... Ib. After seven _long_ years." I pushed her away to examine her with a smile on my face. "Hey, your probably the taller than I last saw you, your hair's longer too! Oh, and-"

She laughed, cutting me off. Weird, not once had I ever heard her laugh before. Though, either way it's beautiful. "I missed you too Garry... Still have the same black roots I see." She teased. I chuckled and rand my fingers through my abnormal hair. "Yeah... It's just, wow. Ib, I thought we'd never see each other again." I muttered ruffling her chocolate brown hair. She grabbed my hand that was in her hair and held it there.

Though, I could have sworn that I saw her cringe when she looked at the painting... I shouldn't wonder why though, this place was like hell. I grabbed her arm and dragged her away from the picture that was the biggest part on our journey. By doing so, I earned a curious glance from the red rose. I dragged her to "The Lady in Red", silently admiring it. "Mary's big sis..." Ib said staring intensely at the woman, her eyes burning in remembrance. I couldn't help but be very puzzled about what she just commented. "How exactly is _that_ related to Mary?" I asked looking at the woman more intensely.

Ib wasted no time to explain. "Well, Mary and the Lady in Red were created by Guertena, correct? Every painting in the gallery that was living thought of him as their father. Or, that's at least my opinion. From what I could tell, Mary was very much a daughter to Guertena than I am to my father... He wanted to make Mary, my dad said that I wasn't what he wanted." she absentmindedly said, adjusting her jacket over her hand. For some reason she did that carefully. Strange. "Ib?" "Hm?" she asked, averting her eyes. 'Her... Her father...?'

"... Never mind... Oh! Didn't I promise to take you out for macaroons if we escaped the Fabricated World? I did didn't I? Ever since we left the gallery, I've had at least two with my in a certain handkerchief in my coat, just incase if I ever saw you again..." I said a bit embarrassed. If she were a cat, I could tell her ears would've perked up by the way that she looked at me with those cute eyes. "Macaroons? My handkerchief?" she stared at me as if to ask "are you offering?" I smiled and dug through my coat pocket, pulling out the beautifully laced handkerchief. By the time I looked at her, she was holding out some sort of sphere shape wrapped in golden tinfoil.

I looked at her confused. She merely grinned. "After we've looked at more painting and sculptures, we should go somewhere today, then we'll eat. Okay? I already saw Abyss of the Deep when I came here, and the Selfless Guard, Lady Taking the Newspaper, Coughing Man, Beach Isolation, The Hanged Man, Glass of Antipodes, Fusion, Serpent's Spirit, and Fabricated World." she remembered with no trouble at all. I scoffed. Well, you've been all over the place haven't you now? You haven't looked at all the paintings in the same area at a time. You just go back and forth between the top a bottom floor. Well, I've only seen the things on the top floor. Have you seen Embodiment of Spirit yet?"

"You mean that rose sculpture? No, I was saving that for later. Can we look at The Reserved Seat and Death of the Individual first, then the rose, and leave?" she asked. "Yeah, yeah. Of course. But we have to come back soon. I still wanted to see A Well-Meaning Hell." Ib nodded. "I saw a new painting here." she muttered. "Oh, what's called." I asked, genuinely curious. "... Mary."

!

"I think the rose was my favorite." Ib said digging through her purse. I ruffled my hair. "So, where to now?" I asked slipping her hood over her head to cover her ears from the cold wind we had today. I could have sworn I saw her blush. "Umm... Not sure. You got any ideas?" She asked zipping up her hoodie, turning her attention back to her purse. Then an idea struck me. "How 'bout a small Café? I haven't been to one in a while. Is that good Ib?" I asked with tints of hopefulness in my voice. She smiled zipping her purse up after she got what she needed. "Okay then, let's... Let's go. Hmm, the nearest one is about a mile away. Should we call a cab?" she asked. "That might be wise." I answered as we stood on the sidewalk.

"We can eat on the way." she said, gaining up on me, making two of her steps match every step that I took. "The macaroons?" I asked. She kept her eyes on the street. "Well, yeah, but I have something too. In that golden tinfoil I have in a ball shape, it's got orange flavored dark chocolate. 'Healthiest chocolate' they said. What a lie, but I heard that it still tastes good." she said with a grin. I smiled with her. "Sounds good too." I added.

"Have you ever had it?" She asked looking to see if a cab was nearby yet. "Well no, but I assume you have?" I said as well as asked, not really sure if that was true or not. "No, They were selling it near the art gallery so I said, 'why not?'" she signaled to a yellow taxi that nearly passed us. " Ah. So it'll be the first time for the both of us." I said stepping in the taxi with her. She leaned up to the front seats. "Nearest café please." she said as the driver headed straight forward.

"Sure thing girly..." after a few moments of _perfect_ silence, "This boy here your lover?"

I felt my face get hot as I glanced at Ib to see her face turning as red as her eyes. "What?! Oh no sir, he... He's my best friend!" she said a thousand times more calmly than how I looked and she felt. "That's what all the couples say. Next time they happen to meet me, I see 'em with two kids with the person they claimed was their 'best friend'." The beer-belly driver bellow as he punched the gas pedal, making Ib and I get pulled by gravity, our backs hitting the torn, dirty, soda smelling back of the seat. "Slow down! You _trying_ to get us in a car wreck?!" I yelled grabbing Ib's tiny hand. I glanced at her and she looked a little nauseous.

"Wanting to protect your woman eh?" he joked. "Sir, it's not like that." I stated, getting a little sick myself. "Then there's no problem then." he said as he wasted gas, going at an illegal speed. "We... we should've walked a mile..." she said, gripping onto my hand.


	3. Chapter 3

Garry opened the car door and fell on the cement in front of Ligina Café. I collapsed right beside him. We looked at each other for a while. He stuck his hand out to me. "Never again?" he asked. I grabbed his hand and shook it. "Never _ever..._" I agreed. He stood up and helped me do the same afterword. I dusted off my skirt and blew my bangs out of my face. "Well _that guy_ sure as hell was a drinker." I sighed flattening my hair with my hands. He guided me to the entrance and opened the glass door for me, a bit surprised by my language. "Clean your mouth Ib, now come on... Oh, Ib, your knee's bleeding." he said as we walked in. I looked down at the scrape and merely shrugged.

"Hey Garry, I'm not nine anymore. It could be worse. Believe me when I say that I would know..." I muttered as a woman in a tennis looking hat with the café logo greeted us and took us to a seat. I loved this place already and I've never been here before. The tables and chairs had legs that were a lot taller than normal. As Garry say down with no trouble and I had to put a little effort into getting into my seat, Garry stared me down a little, after he noticed I was intimidated, his gaze softened. When I paid attention, I noticed that he had his jacket off, it hung over the back of the chair. I shifted. "Did I say something?" I asked. "Er-Well, not really. Well, yeah. Your rather odd." he said as a man in an apron with the logo on it came to ask our orders.

"I'll have Macchiato, a little extra foam." Garry sighed, twirling a curl on his bangs that covered his eye. "Feelin' tired today Garry?" the man asked writing down what he requested. "Not today, it's just the mood." he replied grinning at the man. "And who's the lady and what would she like?" he asked grabbing my hand and kissing it. "Ah, Ib. I'm Ib. And... I'll have Iced Coffee... Uh, please." I timidly pulled my hand away. Garry looked pissed now. "Hands off Garret. Your like a million years old." he hissed to the man who I assume it Garret. Garret looked rather insulted. "Well then. Sorry to push you to uneasiness young lady, I had no idea Gary was willing to settle down." he cooed.

Garry and I blushed again. "Ah, n-no Garret. It's not like tha-" "I can see it already! Purple haired children with red eyes painting a world of wonderful pictures with beauty in their veins!" he said dramatically, interrupting Gary. "You two will be good paren-" "Garret. I swear that if you do not shut your mouth right now, you'll leave the café without one." Gary threatened. While those two argued, I thought a little about my parents and how they were to me... My mind was in another world of memories.

!flashbacks!

"Just over there, we're almost there..." my mother muttered. the two of us were in the garden on a fine Sunday morning _without_ father's abuse. Though, mother did have a black eye, and I had slit knees that had to be stitched by mother. "Can I look now?" I asked fidgeting as her hands guided me to where mother pulled me. "Almost honey." she said, her voice ringing like wind chine in a spring breeze. "A~nd, Now! Ib look!" I uncovered my eyes and gasped. Few nerves made my lips curve into a small smile. "Aren't they beautiful?! Happy eleventh birthday Ib." She said with her contagious enthusiasm.

Every kind of flower in the garden was replaced by red roses. All of the bluebells, daisies, tulips, and other flowers galore were gone, replaced with a flower even better. Red everywhere. "Mom I just... Than-" she put a finger to my lips. "I am I no need of thanks... Ib, your smile is all I need to be sure. Your smile keeps me going." she said, her smile faded, but wasn't gone. "And I hope-NO! I _know_ that the two of us will make it through. And when he's gone, we can be happy everyday." ... I used to think that she was right...

!five/hours/later!

I cried. for the first time in a really long time, I cried. "Leave Me Alone! I Never _Asked_ To Be Born To You!" I screamed as father threw beer bottles at me, every one of them shattering when they hit the wall behind me _if_ I dodged them. After he got tired of missing his target from fifteen feet away, he grabbed a larger shard of glass and stepped toward me. "If only you hadn't opened your smart ass mouth." he growled. I curled up into a ball and rocked back and forth. "PLEASE JUST KILL ME NOW!" I screamed with my head in my hands. He came closer. I could tell because his footsteps became louder every time. He laughed, ever so cruelly.

"Oh no, I won't kill you. What I _will_ do, is make you suffer... Happy late eleventh birthday." And, ever so slowly, he dug the glass into my shoulder. I screamed to loud that I thought that the cement walls were sure to crack and that father would go deaf. Blood made a circle on my shirt around where I had been stabbed. That circle grew every second as more and my blood gushed from me and louder screams traveled from my lungs to my throat, and escaped my lips. Father pushed the glass in more and then, it broke through the bone tissue, and he then scrapped the bone. I kicked, thrashed, and screamed. Sadly, my attempts meant nothing.

"GARRY! GARRY!" My voice became scratchy and tears flowed even faster. I had to cry, just this once, I had to show weakness. I didn't want to, but the pain damn near killed my sanity, so it couldn't be helped. "Fuck You! FUCK YOU!" I screeched. Blood dripped from my shoulder to chest. That metallic smell again, I always thought that he'd get tired of me and kill me. But once again, I was wrong.

!End!

My gaze was sitting outside of the window as I felt the scar on my right shoulder and the snake-like scar on my left arm, both being covered by my red jacket. I pulled my hands away in remembrance. My elbows were on the table and my hands holding head so that gravity couldn't pull it down. Then, a hand slid in front of my face and snapped it's fingers at least two times, and that was enough to pull me out of my trance. My head shot up and my focus was fixated on Garry who was leaned across the table to snap me into reality. "Ah, sorry." I muttered.

A woman that was about Garry's height brought us what we had asked for. As I took a slip of the iced coffee, my mind wandered my future rather than my past. "Well, I _do _want a child or two in the future." I whispered to so quiet that barely even I could hear myself.


End file.
